RPG Crowdfunding News – Delta Green, Tome of Heroes, Mausritter, and more

This week’s article looks are RPG crowdfunding projects that end between August 24th to September 12th. As always, it’s not an exhaustive list of the RPG campaigns available Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, GameOnTabletop, or GameFound, instead this series shows a sampling of some of the great games that are out there.

Delta Green: The Conspiracy from Arc Dream Publishing

• END DATE: Fri, September 10 2021 8:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Delta Green
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $40 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book plus another PDF
• TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: Delta Green: Need To Know is PWYW at DriveThruRPG
• OVERSIMPLIFIED BIT OF RPG HISTORY: Delta Green started out as a setting published by Pagan Publishing for Call of Cthulhu. In 2015/2016, Arc Dream Publishing released Delta Green as a standalone RPG that uses a variation of the d100 Basic Role-Playing system that powers CoC.
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? A reprint of that original 1996 third party Call of Cthulhu sourcebook, Delta Green, with updates making it a sourcebook for Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game. The campaign page promises new artwork and layouts to improve the look of the book as well as rule updates to make it cleanly Delta Green. In addition, the stretch goals unlock additional Delta Green books you may get as add-ons for your game. If you’re a fan of Delta Green, this reprint let’s you see what started it all 25 years ago.

Tome of Heroes: 5th Edition Character Options for Your Game from Kobold Press

• END DATE: Wed, September 8 2021 7:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $49 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the campaign
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? If you’ve purchased any Kobold Press 5e products, you know this: The quality of the writing, artwork, and layout mark the book as a product of the top third party publishers for 5e. Kobold has written for official 5e products, their books are among the most likely to be in FLGS next to Wizards of the Coasts’ products, and they have a large fanbase. All of that is to say, while Kobold Press’ 5e books are not official, they’re the next best thing. With the Tome of Heroes, they’re offering player options with 10 new ancestries, 50 subclasses, new schools of magic, and more. If you’re interested in solid, well playtested 5e material, this is likely to be another winner.

Mausritter: Box Set & Adventure Collection from Losing Games

• END DATE: Tue, August 31 2021 4:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rule boxed set
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: AU$125 + S/H for the boxed set as well as the PDF and print versions of the adventure collection
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This RPG makes you a mouse with a sword. It’s rules-lite fantasy RPG, yet offers some interesting options. Inventory is card based so it’s easy to track, yet makes your decisions feel like they have cost. The game uses 15 spells, which is a limited number compared to many so I’m curious what makes the cut. This campaign brings the second printing of this project to life* plus a new adventure collection. This boxed set gives you the core rulebook, GM screen, dry-erase marker and inventory cards, and more. The adventure collection offers 11 adventure sites as tri-fold pamphlets. If you’re looking for a game of rules-lite sword-and-whiskers, this may fit the bill. If you’re interested, you can pick up the core rulebook through the campaign page
• Reprinting: In addition to this campaign to reprint their work, The Black Hack Second Edition is running a campaign specifically to reprint their book and boxed set. As a note about the health of the market, it’s worth pointing out that these projects are doing well without a new edition (which is the normal way to get more fans of a project). Instead, these publishers are seeing success focusing on their existing products. That’s a positive sign for the economic health of RPGs.

Codex of the Mind - A Complete Psionics System for 5E from Paradigm Concepts

• END DATE: Sun, September 12 2021 11:59 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $50 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This project brings psionics to the Arcanis 5e campaign setting. Psionics are one of the odd powers of D&D as each edition embraces the ability to different degrees. This book offers 192 to 224 pages with three psionic classes, 50 subclasses, psionic dueling rules, and a variety of options within the mental sphere. If you want to add this range of powers to your campaign, or use this as a jumping off point to create a psionic-centered campaign, visit the Kickstarter to get a preview of the ruleset.

BLEAKSPROUT from Dead Box Games

• END DATE: Wed, August 25 2021 9:59 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Adventure module
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $14 + S/H for the PDF and print versions of the book plus player handouts
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This 5e adventure is for 3rd to 5th level adventurers. The party is shrunk down to the size of, well, there’s a part where it sounds like you’ll face off against fleas and they’re sizable compared to you. From there, it’s exploring the Underlog, a tavern inside a toad, and flea cultists as you work your way through this adventure. Beyond the premise, one of the features of this 20-page booklet is the art and its printing process. Using two-tone inks, they create some striking look, which they detail on the campaign page. If you’re interested in a gonzo adventure that touches on Honey, I Shrunk The Kids through the lens of Dungeon Crawl Classics, this may be the one.
  (Note: To be clear, this adventure is for D&D 5e.)

Omega Horizon TTRPG from Paleo Gaming

• END DATE: Tue, August 31 2021 6:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): An original system
• PROJECT TYPE: Core rulebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $70 + $8 US S/H for the PDF and print version of the book plus dice and a soundtrack
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This sci-fi RPG offers a universe in which humanity has conquered the stars and most of the species that orbit them. Earth and its empire are ruled by a literal god-machine. The Earth’s main rival are those that fled the god-machine and setup a mega-corp union of worlds. Those competing empires vie for/battle with the remaining alien planets of the galaxy and some unaligned human colonies. Within this universe, you’re hacking out a living doing whatever you can. Using an original system with a sliding scale of crunch, this game promises a universe of adventure for your characters to battle through.

Liches: Dance Macabre from Texas in August Studio

• END DATE: Thu, August 26 2021 10:29 AM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and Pathfinder 2e
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $10 for the PDF of the book
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? Do you need Liches in your campaign? If the answer is yes, this book offers six Lich archetype templates, a detailed Lich’s lair, six ready made Liches, spells, magic items, and monsters. The book has chapters about their decaying bodies, how they destroy the land that they inhabit, what social life they maintain, and more. There’s enough detail to [Oy.] flesh out your Lich. [Sorry!] My awful puns aside, if you’re interested, check out the campaign page for a sample of the book.

Over the Next Hill 2: 6 Plug-In Settlements for your 5E Game from EN Publishing

• END DATE: Tue, August 24 2021 5:00 PM EDT.
• SYSTEM(S): Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
• PROJECT TYPE: Sourcebook
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: £14 for the PDFs of Over the Next Hill 1 and 2
• DISCLAIMER: EN World is a subsidiary of EN Publishing
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This books adds six new fantasy settlements to plug into your campaign. Coming in at 37 pages, each settlement is 4 to 5 pages of information including NPCs, plot hooks, and information about the location. There’s an island, a lighthouse, a manor, artistic community, and more. If you need ready made locations to run your campaign, this is an excellent resource.

Unplugged Games Cafe

• END DATE: Fri, September 3 2021 11:30 PM EDT.
• PROJECT TYPE: Board game cafe
• MOST POPULAR PLEDGE: $100 for stickers, play passes, and a special event
• WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This campaign generates funds to bring a tabletop board game cafe to the greater Richmond, Virginia area. I like to cover the expanding footprint of friendly local gaming stores (FLGS) as well as their related businesses. This isn’t quite a full-service FLGS, more of a companion featuring a place to play your games. Coming this Fall to 1300 Sycamore Square, Midlothian, Virginia 23113 USA, if you’re interested in a restaurant with gaming options in the Richmond area, this may be an option to add to your list.

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[DariusArgent]

Pretty sad to see so many third parties to take on the psionics in so many different ways, it's difficult to find the one that mostly sticks to the archetype.

 

[PCIHenry]

Pretty sad to see so many third parties to take on the psionics in so many different ways, it's difficult to find the one that mostly sticks to the archetype.

That's why we made that pdf preview available for free. If you don't like our take on psionics you can move on to another system without any loss of money.

 

[Superchunk77]

Pretty sad to see so many third parties to take on the psionics in so many different ways, it's difficult to find the one that mostly sticks to the archetype.

Sticks to which archetype?

 

[TrippyHippy]

The new Delta Green is great. I have some mixed thoughts about the rules. Which, you know, is just houseruled BRP. It's alot of " We use CoC advancement, but it's cool because it's in reverse". But the books and scenarios themselves are absolute gold.

I think this 90s era of Delta Green is the best. While, the new books do an excellent job of incorporating modern technology (namely the internet) doing your Cthulhu X-Files thing in the 90s before ubiquitous smart phones I think is really the way to go.

I think the general ruleset in Delta Green is more concise and often makes more sense (to me at least).

Taking the advancement system, for example, having characters check for failed rolls and then rolling under existing scores at the end of a session makes sense in the light of 'learning from failure’ upon reflection. The mental health rules, which actually have some influence from Unknown Armies and incorporating relationships as means of support, also creates a more realistic approach in my view. Combat is grittier but also more refined and thought out. There are only six stats, and a pruned set of skills, which are more functional in my view too.

In the end, for the purposes of it being backwards compatible and also because there is no point fixing things that aren’t broken, the DG system was always going to be a ‘house ruled’ BRP. The rules the house operates with, however, are of the superior kind. And if you have scenarios and written material of the quality that exists for the game, you want a rule set to match.

 

[eyeheartawk]

I think the general ruleset in Delta Green is more concise and often makes more sense (to me at least).

Taking the advancement system, for example, having characters check for failed rolls and then rolling under existing scores at the end of a session makes sense in the light of 'learning from failure’ upon reflection. The mental health rules, which actually have some influence from Unknown Armies and incorporating relationships as means of support, also creates a more realistic approach in my view. Combat is grittier but also more refined and thought out. There are only six stats, and a pruned set of skills, which are more functional in my view too.

In the end, for the purposes of it being backwards compatible and also because there is no point fixing things that aren’t broken, the DG system was always going to be a ‘house ruled’ BRP. The rules the house operates with, however, are of the superior kind. And if you have scenarios and written material of the quality that exists for the game, you want a rule set to match.

All of that is true. Don't get me wrong I love Delta Green. It's just that I have some hangups with it that are mine in particular. I'm currently running a CoC game and the advancement and sanity mechanics between it and DG keep getting jumbled together in my head. And that's annoying. Especially when Delta Green used to literally just be a CoC setting with CoC rules. I realize that Chaosium's licensing/SRD is more to blame for this being a separate game now than anything else. But even so, it used to be simpler to move between the two. I suspect I'm not alone in that, the overlap between DG and CoC players is likely not a perfect circle anymore like it was in the 90s, though I suspect it's still quite overlapping.

 

[TrippyHippy]

All of that is true. Don't get me wrong I love Delta Green. It's just that I have some hangups with it that are mine in particular. I'm currently running a CoC game and the advancement and sanity mechanics between it and DG keep getting jumbled together in my head. And that's annoying. Especially when Delta Green used to literally just be a CoC setting with CoC rules. I realize that Chaosium's licensing/SRD is more to blame for this being a separate game now than anything else. But even so, it used to be simpler to move between the two. I suspect I'm not alone in that, the overlap between DG and CoC players is likely not a perfect circle anymore like it was in the 90s, though I suspect it's still quite overlapping.

Well, this is inevitable as soon as both games become standalone to each other - and it should be noted that CoC7E also departed a little from the old BRP system too. In fact, there used to be some disagreements in minor aspects of the rules - like the selection of skills available - between both lines even when DG was a CoC supplement.

I do recognise the issues of switching between rule sets though as it has happened to me too.

 

[Marc Radle]

Tome of Heroes
Spellcasting Class Preview!
In the newest preview, we explore some of the subclasses for the cleric, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard. This is just a sample of the kinds of subclasses you’ll find for spellcasting characters in the Tome of Heroes!

• Cleric: Mercy Domain
• Sorcerer: Cold-Blooded
• Warlock: Primordial Patron
• Wizard: Spellsmith

More than $200,000 pledged so far!
Over 3,500 backers and still growing!

 

[aramis erak]

No doubt, that BRP SRD is hot trash.

The SRD isn't that bad... but the license terms are.
Now, any US company has nothing much to worry about - the mechanics are excluded from copyright by blackletter US law.
Just have to reword it. Unless, of course, rewording results in a different process, in which case the rules text itself also loses protection for those portions. (Also blackletter.)

(for reference, in discussion of US laws, "blackletter" means "explicitly in the US Code or the Code of Federal Regulations.")

 

[eyeheartawk]

The SRD isn't that bad... but the license terms are.
Now, any US company has nothing much to worry about - the mechanics are excluded from copyright by blackletter US law.
Just have to reword it. Unless, of course, rewording results in a different process, in which case the rules text itself also loses protection for those portions. (Also blackletter.)

(for reference, in discussion of US laws, "blackletter" means "explicitly in the US Code or the Code of Federal Regulations.")

Yes, the terms are bad too.

But the actual SRD is also bad. It contains almost no rules to use. You're left to make up the rest yourself. When compared to virtually any other RPG SRD it is really lacking.

 

[Committed Hero]

I think this 90s era of Delta Green is the best. While, the new books do an excellent job of incorporating modern technology (namely the internet) doing your Cthulhu X-Files thing in the 90s before ubiquitous smart phones I think is really the way to go.

One of the problems with the stuff that came out ~10 years ago (Targets of Opportunity, which gets included at $330,000) is that the zeitgeist of '90s Delta Green had largely subsided. It will be interesting to see that stuff side-by-side with contemporary material.

The scenario Convergence has the best horror reveal I've ever experienced; Artifact Zero is a close second. The writing in DG is so good that it's a shame only Handlers get to read it directly.

There are two great rules additions in the new edition. Lethality addresses the complexity regarding automatic fire that BRP has always used, and Bonds make sure your PC is a terrible human in the end. It's not that the PCs do bad things, it's that they become totally dissociated from the things they are fighting to protect.